1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerned relates to a car seat, or more specifically to a car seat whose seat cushion is supported in such a manner that it is independent and can be moved and adjusted in two directions, both towards the front and the back of the seat.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Normally, a car seat 1 of this type consists of a seat cushion 2 and a seat back or backrest 3, as shown in FIG. 1. The seat frame (not shown in the illustration), which supports the whole seat described above, is itself supported by a forward/backward slide mechanism etc. on the floor of the vehicle's body, thus allowing movement and adjustment both toward the front and the back of the car body in order to enable adaptation according to the stature or preferences of the person seated. There is now a demand for a construction which, in addition to the above, allows the seat cushion 2 only to be moved and adjusted independently both towards the front and the back of the seat (shown by the imaginary lines in FIG. 1), making the seat 1 adjustable to the stature of the person seated for a greater freedom of adaptation. In other words, by being able to move only the seat cushion 2 towards the back of the seat, the feeling of pressure on the femoral region of the person seated is alleviated and operation of the pedals becomes easier. On the other hand, sliding the cushion 2 towards the front of the seat prevents the femoral region of the person seated from rising from the seat's surface, thus providing a more stable seating position.
Expectations concerning the design of a car seat with such a cushion 2 which can be moved and adjusted independently include the use of a sliding structure with a simple make-up which takes the connection with the mechanism for sliding the whole seat 1 forward and backward into consideration and which also poses no problems as far as space is concerned. In addition, movement of the sliding structure should be able to be performed smoothly and adequately, and it should be possible to stop the seat reliably at the required position. The construction should be reasonable, allowing adequate and reliable support of the seated person's weight, while the adjustment procedure itself should be simple and costs for manufacture low. However, previous proposals have shown complicated structures without enabling adequate continuous adjustment etc., at the same time posing problems as far as operability is concerned and generally having many disadvantages along with their merits, so that it has become desirable to devise effective countermeasures.